With an eye on UP polls, Imam gathers his ‘flock’

With the end of Assembly elections in five states, Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari has turned his attention on Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections scheduled early next year.

With the end of Assembly elections in five states, Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari has turned his attention on Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections scheduled early next year. He chaired a meeting of 13 political parties today and declared to fight the election together to ‘‘ensure the defeat of the so-called secular parties, which had always exploited the minority’’.

The recently concluded Assam Assembly elections saw Bukhari campaigning against the Congress under the banner of the Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF), a conglomerate of 20 religious and linguistic minorities led by state Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president Maulana Badaruddin Ajmal, which had posed a threat to the Congress base among religious minorities, especially immigrants in the Char areas.

The gathering on Tuesday included National League Uttar Pradesh, National Lok Tantrik Party, Parcham Party of India, Muslim Majlis Uttar Pradesh, Rashtravadi Samaj Party and Muslim-e-Mushawarat Uttar Pradesh.

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‘‘We cannot remain silent to the problems of Muslims in the country. The secular parties have betrayed us and there must be one Muslim party, which can be sensitive of our issues’’, said Bukhari.

Asked why such a party was needed when UP had elected 44 Muslim MLAs, he said: ‘‘They all have failed us because they are in those parties. If Dalits and Yadavs have their own party why can’t we have a Muslim party?’’

He did not say whether the front would contest UP elections alone or will have an alliance. ‘‘This we will decide in our next June 10 meet but one thing is clear the remedy to Muslim’s issues is unity and we have vowed to be united and now the secular parties are in for trouble.’’

Of late, Bukhari has been critical of UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav for his ‘‘failure to arrest riots in Aligarh and address Muslims’ issues in the state’’.

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However, he supported the Left Front in West Bengal because they had ‘‘not given tickets to those who were opposed by Muslims.’’ ‘‘I was told that the CPM is serious about the Muslim problems so I supported them.’’

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